Starting Over
by crystalblue19
Summary: [Piers x Helena] This should be easy, right? She's taken care of her younger sister her whole life so taking care of a different person shouldn't be too hard...except this person is not a sibling that she loved with all her heart but a soldier that was thought to be dead.


**Well, here we go, another Pier x Helena though this time it's a multi chap, I just can't resist this pairing. x3 This will be set sometime after the events of re6, though forgive me that I don't know how the Secret Service or BSAA works so I'm just making it up as I go along. All I know from what I read is that Helena is the CIA's 'problem child' due to her past behavior. :p**

**xXx**

The sweet smell of coffee brewing met her sensitive nose as Helena tugged her hair up into a loose ponytail, donned in only her sleeping clothes, she padded into the kitchen. Reaching up into the cabinets and pulling a cup out, she waited patiently for the coffee to finish brewing before picking it up and pouring herself a full cup, immediately breaking out the sugar and cream to mix inside.

Despite what most people would think, Helena likes her coffee sweet with way too much sugar - Deborah used to scold her about it, but it was a hard habit to break; it just didn't taste good without that much sweetness to cover up the bitterness.

Dumping the used spoon into the sink, the woman made her way into the living room with her cup, blowing lightly over the steaming liquid. With a deep sigh she took a seat onto the couch and leaned back, finally daring a small sip with the hot liquid.

Grabbing her phone that she left on the couch, she pressed the button to turn it on, letting the screen light up and revealing that she again has gotten no missed calls or messages. With a roll of her eyes and a scoff, she tossed the device back onto the cushion it was occupying.

Wrapping her fingers around the warm cup on her lap, Helena leaned her head back and let her eyes drift closed.

Ever since the Tall Oaks incident, assignments from the secret service have been scarce so far considering her less then favorable reputation. They still pay handsomely of course whenever she does get assigned a mission but she only ever gets missions with Leon who keeps trying to prove her worth to the service by constantly asking for her in any assignment that requires a partner.

Though she was grateful for the handsome agent's help, she couldn't but think that whatever he does won't work. They've been doing this arrangement where Leon drags her wherever he can take her for about two months now and nothing seems to work.

And she's pretty sure she knows why. It's because she's been working with the best agent in the workplace so whenever a mission goes successfully, they would automatically believe that it would be because of Leon considering her past actions of acting on impulse and making rash decisions they just can't believe that she would be the one to complete it. Despite his insistence of telling them that she's capable of holding her own, they still refused to give her her own mission, even when she asked numerous times, always giving her the excuse that they have no assignments at the moment and that they would call when they do get one. It frustrated her to no end, how is she to prove her worth when they won't even give her a chance?

It seemed that the only one in the service that trusted her was Leon and Hunnigan but it's not like those two were the boss of the place.

She was snapped out of her musing at the sound of a shrill ringing. Placing her now cool mug onto the coffee table in front of her, Helena hurriedly snatched up her phone and read the caller ID. Brown eyes widened as she quickly swiped her thumb across the screen and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Helena, it's Hunnigan." The corner of her lips tugged up slightly at the familiar voice, a call from Hunnigan always means that she will have something to do.

"Hey, so anything new?" She asked, straightening up in her seat, she could only hope that she has finally gotten her own assignment.

"Well..yeah, but I have to let you know that you'll be staying in your home for the next couple months..or more." She informed her vaguely.

Helena raised a brow in confusion. "What? What do you mean? Am I not getting an assignment?"

"Yes, this is an assignment. In fact, it's one that you'll be doing on your own like you've wanted but it's not being assigned to you by the secret service...but by the BSAA." Hunnigan told her, growing silent for a few seconds to let her take it in before speaking again.

"Anyways, Leon is on his way over right now to let you know more on the matter." Gaining her voice back, Helena finally replied before bidding goodbye and hanging up the phone.

Glancing down at her sleeping attire, she shook her head and placed her phone down. Standing up and taking her now cold mug of coffee with her, she dumped the contents out in the drain and placed the cup in the sink to wash later as she rushed to her room to change into something appropriate.

Buttoning up her dress shirt, the agent couldn't help but wonder just what kind of assignment would require her to stay home.

And why would the _BSAA_ request for her?

Dragging her brush through her silky hair, she stared into the mirror absently, the only person she knows in the BSAA is that Chris guy and his partner she saw back in China...but if it was him, what would he want with her?

She had just left her room after getting ready when a knock sounded at her front door. Already sure that it's Leon, she brushed her fingers through her hair one last time before pulling the door open to meet the warm blue eyes that she has grown accustomed too. "Hey there," he greeted with a smile, crossing his arms and leaning against her doorframe. "Hunnigan already gave you a call?"

She nodded. "Yes..what exactly is she talking about with the BSAA and me staying home for this?"

"Well, uhm, you remember Chris's partner we saw with him in China?" At her nod, he uncrossed his arms and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Well, this mission will be all about him and I need to explain all the way from the beginning. It actually has to do with what happened to them in China, so...you mind if I come in?"

"Yes, of course." She automatically moved to the side to allow him inside; he's been inside of her home numerous times already but she appreciates that he's still polite enough to ask before entering. Wiping his feet on the welcome mat, he strolled into her house and took a seat on her couch, closing the door after him, she then joined him.

"Tell me everything that's going on."

**xXx**

By the end of the lengthy explanation about what happened to the BSAA soldiers once they separated from them in China, Helena was leaning forward, her elbows resting on her legs as she mulled over the new information in her head. "So...Piers infected and sacrificed himself for Chris...but when they sent a team back to search the underwater base they found him." She muttered to herself, her fingers resting beneath her chin.

"Yep," Leon replied, leaning back comfortably on her couch and watching her reaction to the information. "He was unconscious and barely hanging on but they managed to save him in time."

"But," she turned her gaze over to him. "What about the infection?"

"They amputated his mutated arm and hopefully all of the virus that came with it, they do have the vaccine from Jake's blood so they injected him with that just in case." He explained, crossing his leg over the other.

"Okay, but..." She turned her body to face him fully, absently taking notice of his arm stretched across the top of her couch to her side. "What does this have to do with me? Am I going to be taking care of Piers or something?"

"Yep." Leon answered without hesitation.

Helena blinked, not understanding why she was chosen for this task. "..Why me?"

Uncrossing his legs, the male straightened up a bit letting his arm drop from the couch to her shoulder; she tried to ignore it but couldn't stop the light barely noticeable blush from blossoming onto her cheeks. "Because Chris had asked me but I recommended you instead."

Well, she understood the fact that Leon was a busy man with his skills, he gets assigned plenty of missions but she still wasn't understanding why he chose her. "Why?"

He grinned. "Well, knowing your life with your sister and how you watched over her, you certainly know how to take care of someone. Plus," he sat up fully now placing his free hand on her other shoulder. "This gives you the chance to prove yourself to the secret service, they'll have to see your worth if the BSAA approves of you."

She blinked, contemplating his words, a small smile soon worked its way across her frowning lips as she stared back at him with hopeful eyes. "Leon, you're a genius!"

"So, does this mean you agree?" He smirked.

"Of course! But how long will I be babysitting him? Hunnigan said a couple months or more...I don't want to have to be taking of him the rest of my life.." She murmured, twiddling her thumbs together.

He finally moved his hands from her shoulder as he went back to leaning against the couch, scratching his chin, he answered her. "Hmm, it shouldn't be too long I think. Chris said that they're working on a robotic arm for Piers. I'm guessing you just have to make sure he'll be okay until they finish it. Chris should give you more information when he comes later today."

Helena's jaw dropped open at that. "He's coming today? Already?"

"Yeah, I just gotta call him and he'll bring Piers on over." Leon told her as he pulled out his phone and turned it on.

She stood up at that, pulling her hair back into a bun. "Fine. I'm going to go fix up the guest room then while you do that."

Helena vaguely heard his mumbled 'okay' as she hurried off to clean the guest room.

**xXx**

Wrapping up the cord to the vacuum, the brown eyed woman pushed it back into the closet that it belonged in before turning around to look over the clean room proudly. Leon had left a while ago once he had gotten off the phone with Chris, informing her that the larger man should be over shortly with her guest.

Why Leon left instead of waiting is beyond her but she just assumed that he probably had something to do - he hardly gets a chance to just hang out.

Satisfied with the room, Helena spun on her heel and headed to the kitchen to grab something to drink. She had just finished taking a few refreshing gulps of water when the sound of someone knocking reached her ears. Capping the bottle of water, she placed it back into her fridge and jogged to her front door.

She had to look up to catch the muscular man's gaze, almost immediately taking notice of his slumbering comrade that he held on his back. Wow, she didn't expect him to be bringing him in right away.

"Uhm, hi. I have the guest room ready if you want to lay him in there." Helena informed him, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

Chris nodded and stepped inside the house to let her close the door before he began to trail after her. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."

"No problem." She told him, leading him to the room and pointing him towards the bed.

Leaning against the wall by the door, she observed him and how gently he placed the sleeping soldier down and covering him with the thick blanket. Her eyes wandered to the injured male's right side, taking in the sight of the gauze wrapped securely around his chest and shoulder, covering up the spot that his right arm should have been. Traveling up, she stared at the bandages wrapped around his head, particularly on the right side where it covered his eye though she could see some dark lines on his cheek that protruded from the bottom of the bandages, making her wonder how the injury looked beneath the gauze.

"He'll probably be out for a while," Chris muttered, taking a seat at the edge of the bed and gazing at the younger man. "He's been drifting in and out of consciousness ever since they finished amputating his arm, I'm not sure when he'll be fully awake but I'm hoping you'll contact me when he does."

"Of course," Helena nodded, staying at her spot against the wall. "But I just wanted to know how long am I going to be taking care of him?"

"However long it takes for him to recover and it depends on how long the project on his arm will take too. Don't worry, we'll be paying you every week for this job." He assured her, standing up and walking till he was standing in front of her.

"I'm not worried about the pay," she informed him with a shake of her head. "I just wanted to know how long I'll be doing this."

Chris nodded as he looked her over. "There's a couple other things I want you to do while taking care of him," staring down at her and making sure he had her utmost attention, he continued. "We gave him the vaccine for the virus but we want you to monitor his condition just incase anything happens and I was hoping that when he's recovered enough to the point that he's able to begin moving again that you would help train him into getting used to using his left arm."

Storing each of the tasks that he's giving her into her memory, Helena nodded and lifted her left hand in the air. "That shouldn't be too hard; my dominant hand is my left one."

"Perfect. I know Piers doesn't like to feel useless, so if you could teach him to shoot a handgun with his left hand then that would be helpful. Because even if he does get a replacement for his right arm, he'll need to get used to his left side - especially with his left eye seeing the amount of damage that has been done to his right." Chris told her, crossing his arms and taking a glance back at the sleeping male.

"Will do," Helena agreed.

He turned back to the petite agent. "So, knowing all this, and that you'll be doing this for an unknown length of time...do you still accept this job I'm offering?"

"Yes," she answered without a hint of hesitation bringing a small smile to his lips.

"Leon recommended you to me and his judgement is usually good. I'm trusting you with this Helena," Chris continued, his expression dropping back to serious. "I want you to promise me you'll take good care of him. He means a lot to me, like a-" He didn't even need to finish his sentence for her to know what he was going to say, she could recognize that look anywhere, it was the same kind of look she used to carry everytime she looked at Deborah.

"Little brother," she murmured, saying the words for him, a silent understanding passed between them, they both understood what it was like to be the older sibling who loved and would be willing to do anything for their younger sibling; she placed a comforting hand among his thick arm. "Don't worry Chris, I promise I'll take good care of him."

He smiled once again, gaining a smile back from the usually hard faced woman. "Thank you. I'll try to visit as much as I can between work but you can reach me on my phone anytime."

Helena nodded, she had a feeling that she could get along with the larger man. "Okay, how about we talk more while I make you something to eat?"

As she lead him out of the room, she took one last glance back at the still sleeping male and decided that she should make a large bowl of soup so that she could have leftovers for Piers to eat just incase he happens to wake up.

She wondered how he'll react once he fully regains consciousness and realizes that his right arm is gone and that he'll be staying with a stranger.


End file.
